Kasich tells Christie and Jeb to stop the negative ads

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Ohio Gov. John Kasich implored two of his chief rivals here in New Hampshire to drop negative attack ads against him and stay positive.

Kasich's comments, at a town hall event at a country club here in Portsmouth, came after he said he was happy that a pro-Kasich super PAC had decided to replace a negative ad attacking Sen. Marco Rubio that featured a clip of Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).

The Ohio governor has been caught in a tight four-way fight with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Rubio, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the New Hampshire Republican primary to win a ticket on to South Carolina. Jockeying in the establishment lane of the GOP field has been intense and included attack ads directed at one another as well as similarly toned negative fliers and events.

"I'm here to say to my good friends Chris Christie and Jeb Bush, they should take their negative nonsense off television," Kasich said. "I'll tell you with all these people in the field what are you supposed to do? Just play whack-a-mole when somebody gets ahead of you and you beat them over the head. It's ridiculous. So why don't we finish the last week with people saying what they're for rather than, first of all, making up stuff about what somebody else is doing, which is all baloney?"

Then Kasich directed his focus at Bush.

"And Jeb says 'Well this isn't bean bag,'" Kasich continued. "Well he raised $100 million and you spent $40 [million] selling yourself and it doesn't go anywhere you don't spent the rest of the whack-a-mole. So take it off the air folks! Put what you're for on the air so they can make a good judgment in the last week of this campaign."